[Solve] Bluetooth is Not Available on This Device

You probably ran the Bluetooth troubleshooter to fix related issues but instead got the message, “Bluetooth is not available on this device. Please try using an external adapter to add Bluetooth capability to this computer.”

The first thing to ensure is whether your PC supports Bluetooth or not. If it doesn’t, the only option is to install an external adapter to add Bluetooth to any PC. However, if it worked fine earlier and you encountered the problem recently, a corrupted Windows update or problematic drivers could have caused it.

Simple techniques like restarting the computer, re-enabling Bluetooth, and performing a hard restart can sometimes solve the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error. If these don’t help, you can move on with the below-mentioned fixes.

Delete Unknown USB Device

According to most troubled users, the Bluetooth driver disappears after a Windows update. Usually, this happens when the Device Descriptor request fails, and the operating system can’t identify it. You can find it as an ‘Unknown USB device’ under Universal Serial Bus controllers.

So, deleting this unknown USB device and restarting your PC will reinitialize the necessary Bluetooth driver on your PC. This way, most users claim to have fixed the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error:

1. Press Windows + X to open the Quick Link menu, and select Device Manager.
   
2. Next, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click on Unknown USB Device, and choose Uninstall device.
   
4. If there are multiple such devices, kindly remove them all.
5. Now, hard restart your computer. This will reinstall the necessary Bluetooth driver on your PC.
6. Once you boot into Windows, navigate back to Device Manager. This time, the Bluetooth driver should appear.
7. Finally, run the Bluetooth troubleshooter, and you should no longer encounter the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error.

Check Bluetooth Services

If the Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service, Bluetooth Support Service, and Bluetooth User Support Service are not running, this may also trigger the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error. Moreover, you can even refresh and restart them to see if this fixes the issue:

1. Use the Windows + R hotkey to execute the following Run command:
   services.msc
2. After the Services application opens, find the three services mentioned earlier.
3. Check each of their status. If they aren’t running, right-click and choose Start.
   
   Else, you can pick Refresh.
   
4. If refreshing didn’t help, pick the Restart option, and wait until Windows attempts to start it.
   
5. Once all three services are up and running, run the Bluetooth troubleshooter to check if the problem persists.

Update, Roll Back, or Reinstall the Bluetooth Driver

In some cases, the Bluetooth device is available on Device Manager, but one or many drivers may show a yellow exclamation mark. This could happen due to an underlying or corrupted update. Here’s a quick workaround for this problem:

1. Firstly, press Windows + R and use the following command to provoke the Run utility:
   devmgmt.msc
2. Expand Bluetooth and right-click on the appropriate driver. Here, pick Update driver.
   
3. In the new dialogue box, select Search automatically for drivers.
   
4. If the best drivers are already installed, open the Device Manager application again. This time, double-click the corrupted driver to open Properties.
5. Switch to the Driver tab and press the Roll Back Driver button.
   
6. Now, select why you’re trying to restore the driver version, and hit Ok. This should fix the issue if a corrupted update were the culprit.
7. Even if rolling back didn’t help, right-click on your driver and pick the Uninstall device option.
   
8. Next, click Uninstall in the confirmation prompt to uninstall the device driver.
   
9. Then, restart your computer, and the necessary Bluetooth driver will be updated automatically.
10. Run the troubleshooter, and you should not get the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error this time.

If these options don’t help, you can manually download and install the latest update from your manufacturer’s website.

Turn Off Fast Startup

The Fast startup feature on Windows will prevent your computer from properly shutting down. This way, the system won’t get updated, and the PC becomes prone to further issues. So, if the Bluetooth toggle button has disappeared and the troubleshooter shows the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error, disabling Fast Startup may help:

1. Open the Control Panel from the Start Menu and select System & Security.
   
2. Next, choose Power Options.
   
3. From the left section, pick one of the following: Choose what the power button does or Choose what closing the lid does.
   
4. Then, click on the Change settings that are currently unavailable link.
   
5. Move to the Shutdown settings section and uncheck the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option.
6. Hit the Save Changes button and shut down your PC.
   
7. Finally, turn on your computer and after the Windows boots, run the troubleshooter to check if the issue persists.

Uninstall Windows Update

Since the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error usually triggers after a corrupted Windows update, we recommend uninstalling the latest version. Kindly follow the below procedure on how to do it the right way:

1. In the Run dialogue box, execute the following command:
   appwiz.cpl
2. From the left pane, click on View installed updates.
   
3. Here, select the first one from the list, and press the Uninstall button.
   
4. Now, restart your computer and check if the issue persists in the Bluetooth troubleshooter.

Clear CMOS and Re-flash the BIOS

If none of the solutions worked, there are probably issues with your BIOS. To fix this, we recommend clearing the CMOS to reset your BIOS to its factory settings. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to doing it using the jumper method:

1. Unplug all the connections and open the PC casing.
   
   Laptop users can remove the external battery before opening the bottom casing.
   
2. Since the power supply is not entirely cut off, we recommend pressing the power button for approximately 5 seconds. This will discharge any remaining capacitor.
3. Get to the motherboard and locate the CMOS jumper. You may take help from your motherboard’s manual if you have difficulty finding it.
4. For a 2-pin jumper, take a screwdriver and make contact with both of them. While you’re at it, power on your device.
   
   For a 3-pin jumper, swap the positions 1-2 and 2-3. Reassemble the parts before starting your device.
5. Before Windows boots, your PC gets into BIOS and completes the reset.
6. After your computer restarts, run the Bluetooth troubleshooter to see if the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error still appears.

Sometimes, clearing CMOS won’t help, and the only option remains to re-flash the BIOS. For your comfort, we have prepared a dedicated article to help you update BIOS safely on your PC.

Fresh Install Windows

Even if resetting and updating BIOS didn’t solve your problem, the final solution is to fresh install Windows. The clean installation declutters the PC and eliminates any possible hardware faults that could be triggering the Bluetooth error.

Kindly follow our other post on how to clean install/reinstall Windows. Once done, the Bluetooth driver and toggle button should both reappear. Also, running the troubleshooter will not show the “Bluetooth is not available on this device” error.